yphilis was unknown in our civilisation. It cannot be traced with
any certainty in Europe before the fifteenth century, although its
origin is involved in some controversy. The attempt to suppress venereal
diseases by proper treatment is of little more than twelve years
duration. Three men--Wassermann, Ehrlich, and Noguchi--have supplied the
knowledge whereby the evil may be attacked. See "Motherhood and the
Relationship of the Sexes," p. 283, _et seq._

[132:1] "The Fight against Venereal Disease," by Raymond B. Hodick, _The
New Republic_, Nov. 30, 1918.

[134:1] My own opinions have been greatly influenced by what has been
done in England with regard to drink, and in the American Army in
maintaining the health of the Army by restricting prostitution, which
explains a change in my attitude, since writing the chapter on
"Prostitution" in _The Truth about Woman_.

[141:1] On this question the testimony of the American Army is urgent.
They say, "Prophylaxis is under favorable circumstances secondary only
in effectiveness to actual prevention of exposure.... When every other
means have been used to make contact difficult if not impossible,
prophylaxis, while not one hundred per cent. efficient, is invaluable as
a last resort, and has contributed a large share towards maintaining in
our Army the lowest venereal disease rate ever before known." Article
before cited.

_Fifth Essay_

IF A CHILD COULD CHOOSE?

A PLEA FOR PROTECTION FOR THE ILLEGITIMATELY BORN CHILD.

"I have called and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand
and no man regarded."--Pro. i. 24.

I

Circumstances, at different times, have made me think and care very
deeply about the injustice suffered by children born outside the
protection of legal marriage; it was, indeed, when I was still
young--young in experience and very ignorant of life; long before I
began to write, at the time when I was headmistress of a private school
for girls, that the question first forced itself into my consciousness.

It was in this way. I was told suddenly that the parents of two sisters
who had entered my school as boarders were living together without being
married. I was requested to send the children away. I can recall the
scene through the length of the years; the excitement of the parent who
was my informer; the kind of curious enjoyment she displayed in telling
me the story, an enjoyment which surprised me so much and angered me at
the time,